Car Owners

SAN DIEGO - Gov. Pete Wilson signed the first installment of a $3.6 billion tax cut, the bulk of which will go to reduce fees for car owners. The bill signed this week only reduces taxes and fees by $1.4 billion this year, and will only reach $3.6 billion within five years if the economy grows as projected. The owners of the state's 24 million registered vehicles will see the bulk of the cuts - a 25 percent reduction next year in the vehicle-license fee, or about $1 billion of next year's tax cut. That will save the average car owner about $43 a year.

I'm very ticked off at any and all car owners that have a vehicle that comes with the keyless entry thing they can use to lock and unlock their vehicle doors by pressing a button on the key thing. It is so annoying when I am inside my apartment trying to read, watch TV or sleep when someone is locking or unlocking their vehicle doors and that very loud sound goes off! I'm greatly ticked off with the truck that pulled around me in the left turn access on south OBT as if he owned the road.

Did you hear the one about the guy who puts a ''No Radio'' sign on his car, goes off to a party and returns to find his car window smashed and a handwritten note saying, ''Get One.''How about the one where a thief drives away with a car and spots the owner's mother in the back seat. Panicking, he jumps out and runs away.There are probably 1.7 million jokes about keeping a car in New York City, one for every passenger car registered by a city resident with the State Department of Motor Vehicles.

In Orlando's latest "stand your ground" confrontation, businessman Zaya Givargidze defended himself Monday afternoon after a stranger tried to attack him with a knife but fled after seeing his drawn handgun, according to police. No shots were fired and no one was hurt. The stranger, later identified as Richard Phillips, was later charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Givargidze, who owns U.S. Auto Car Wash at 2605 W. Colonial Drive, told officers he was at work shortly after 12 p.m. when the man called him over, began screaming and rushed at him with a steak knife, the arrest report states.

There's no telling where those used cars on dealer lots come from.A used 1993 Nissan Maxima sold last year by Norman Brothers Nissan had been stolen and changed hands at least five times before the Florida Highway Patrol confiscated it from an unsuspecting Central Florida couple.Norman Brothers filed suit last week against Kissimmee Toyota Inc. and four previous owners of the car, seeking to recover $15,000 it paid for the Maxima.George Kazery, general manager of Kissimmee Toyota, could not be reached for comment Friday.

When it comes to replacing parts such as spark plugs and fuses, most owners do the work themselves or take the vehicle back to the dealership where they bought it, according to a study of new-vehicle buyers worldwide.The Market Opinion Research Global Automotive Parts & Service Survey polled 3,473 owners of 1992 model and later cars and light trucks in the 20 countries that represent 90 percent of the world's new-vehicle sales. The goal: to learn where consumers go for services such as fluid replacement, replacement parts, collision repair and aftermarket products.

Christopher Conquest's first car stereo was a portable boom box he kept in the back seat.It was stolen in 1980. He bought a new car and had a stereo radio and cassette tape player installed.That unit was stolen last year. He had a third unit installed. It was stolen several months ago.''The first time I was demoralized, and after that I was angry,'' said Conquest, a human-resources consultant who lives in Stamford, Conn., but often drives his Saab into New York City, and says he cannot stand driving without music.

With the zeal of religious devotees, Central Florida Saturn owners are joining a cavalcade of Saturn car owners on a nationwide pilgrimage to the place where their cars were brought into this world - the factory in Spring Hill, Tenn.These are no ordinary car owners, and the devotion they show to their cars, and to the company that made them, transcends the standard American love affair with automobiles. The bond between these owners and their steel steeds is a strong one indeed. Strong enough to make them trek the 722 miles between Orlando and Spring Hill.

MR. HAND Inc., which hand washes and waxes cars for $9.95, has opened its second county facility at 204 S. Woodland Blvd., DeLand. The original company opened less than a year ago on Nova Road in Holly Hill.The facilities, which service auto dealers as well as car owners, has plans to expand to the southern part of the county.

Seminole County residents may soon be using car decals to help prevent auto thefts.The Sheriff's Office and all seven city police agencies want to start a Combat Auto Theft program to deter car thefts and identify stolen vehicles on the road between 1 and 5 a.m.If county commissioners approve the program, free CAT decals will be given to interested car owners. The yellow-and-black sticker, which features the image of a Florida panther, goes on the rear window. The decal signals the car owner's permission to stop the vehicle between 1 and 5 a.m. to identify the driver.

Downtown Disney will rev up Car Masters Weekend on Saturday and Sunday. "Basically, it's a car party. You'll see muscle cars, you'll see exotics, you'll see classics, old race cars," says automotive designer Chip Foose, who will return for the festivities. More than 150 vehicles, provided by Florida car clubs, will be displayed on the Downtown Disney plaza and in its parking lot for the free event. Foose, along with "Cars" filmmaker Jay Ward , will host a celebrity chat show and mingle with car owners.

An Apopka car-dealership owner accused of laundering marijuana sale proceeds to the Gulf Cartel was sentenced to roughly three years in federal prison Wednesday. Joel Torres, owner of JM2 Auto Sales, was suspected of helping the Gulf Cartel establish a marijuana-distribution hub in Central Florida. The Gulf Cartel is one of the seven primary Mexican criminal organizations that bring drugs into the United States. Federal agents said that associates of the Gulf Cartel brought in thousands of pounds of marijuana to Central Florida over the course of several years, earning millions of dollars in proceeds.

The federal trial for the owner of a local car dealership, suspected of being an associate of the Gulf Cartel and helping that criminal enterprise establish a marijuana distribution hub in Central Florida, is under way in Orlando. Joel Torres, owner of JM2 Auto Sales in Apopka, is accused of laundering marijuana sales proceeds for the Gulf Cartel and sending vehicles back to members of the group in Texas. The Gulf Cartel is one of the seven main Mexican criminal organizations that traffic drugs in the United States.

A new social car-sharing service launched Thursday in Chicago, giving city dwellers another option in a growing field. Getaround began in San Francisco in May 2011 and has expanded to Austin , Texas; Portland, Ore.; and San Diego. Chicago marks the startup's move east of the Mississippi River and follows the company's August announcement that it raised $13.9 million in venture capital funding from high-profile backers such as Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer and Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt 's Innovation Endeavors.

In 2008, Jim Gray finally bought a Chevy Corvette. The "dream car," as Gray's son Jason described it, became known as "The Trip Black" because of its solid-black paint job, black interior and a black convertible top. Proud of his automobile, yet very cautious, Gray mostly drove the convertible around his home in Winter Springs , taking great care to park it away from less-careful car owners. "He would take up two spots," said Darlene Gray, his wife of 37 years. And, she added, the car "got a bath every Saturday.

One of the more eclectic festivals in Florida is back for its ninth year as the Celebration Exotic Car Festival comes to the area. This year's event, though, has a few changes that raise the pedigree of the four-day automotive, culinary and celebrity-infused list of activities. Most will be interested in the free display of hundreds of famous and expensive cars in downtown Celebration on Saturday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Event cofounder Jeff Ippoliti says the event is North America's largest collection of exotic cars, race cars and iconic Hollywood movie cars.

INSURERS RECEIVE TORRENT OF CALLS FROM CAR OWNERSSAO PAULO, Brazil - As if rampant car thefts and reckless driving were not enough, Brazilians have another compelling reason to insure their cars - torrential rain. The Porto Seguro insurance company, Sao Paulo's top car-insurance company, said Friday that inquiries about policies for cars have tripled during the last week as heavy summer rains swept away cars on downtown streets. Earlier this week, a tunnel in the city center was inundated with about 10 feet of water during rush hour, forcing drivers to abandon their cars.

By Donna O'Neal, Sentinel Tallahassee Bureau (David White of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.), May 5, 1988

New car owners: If an auto dealer hands you a lemon, the Legislature may give you some lemon aid.The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a beefed-up version of the state's lemon law Wednesday that proponents say will make more manufacturers repair or replace duds.''This is the new and improved lemon law,'' said Sen. Gwen Margolis, D- North Miami, a committee member and sponsor of the measure. ''This is the best consumer bill of the year.''Only two senators voted against the proposal -- including Chairman Jim Scott, who said he didn't realize it contained a $2 surcharge on all new car sales.

DAYTONA BEACH — Cars going bump-and-run all night, sparks flying, smoke in the air, two "Big Ones" and one guy who flipped over twice in his car before landing upside down. Chaos at the track? Time for NASCAR officials to hit the reset button? Embrace the Ambien -snooze experience of tandem-drafting again? Nah. NASCAR officials got exactly what they wanted. If Saturday's Budweiser Shootout served as a prelude of things to come, NASCAR got it right by adjusting the setups to all but eliminate tandem drafting.

Dear Greg: I am disabled and live with my 89-year-old mother, who has a very hard time getting around. In June we bought a new 2010 Dodge Journey at Greenway Ford. Before the car turned 500 miles, my mother was on her way to a benefit and the vehicle died on her. She frantically called me for help. She finally got the car started and returned home. I took it out on the road and could not recreate the problem. Twelve days later, I was on I-4 doing 65 mph and the vehicle just died as my mother described.